The two teenagers arrested on suspicion of plotting a mass school shooting in South Pasadena were not armed, but police said Tuesday that they were still in the beginning stages of their plan.
"It's like anything else, we could've stopped the plot at the beginning, a quarter or halfway in," he said.
The teenagers -- who were arrested Monday and have not been identified -- wanted to kill "as many people as possible" and told investigators that they were willing to die in a shootout with police, Miller added.
"This was at the very beginning of their plot to create a massacre," he said.
Investigators believe they have a motive, but did not elaborate. Police officials planned to turn the results of their ongoing investigation over to county prosecutors for review on Tuesday.
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News of the purported plot shocked many people in this close-knit community, including Deb McCurdy, who will be president of the parent-teacher association next year.
"We're stunned, but relieved the systems in place worked," she said.
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